The Sarajevo Film Festival has introduced a new award: the Prix Cineplexx, given to the best feature in the Open Air Premiere program and chosen by audience members.
Established in partnership with Cineplexx — the leading cinema chain in Southeast Europe — the award has been created to “further strengthen the link between festival recognition and a film’s theatrical life,” underscoring a shared commitment to put movies in theaters.
The prize has a total value of 20,000 euros ($22,855), comprising 15,000 euros for a marketing campaign in Cineplexx cinemas to support the winning film’s theatrical distribution, and 5,000 euros in cash, presented to the film’s producer.
One of the Festival’s most attended programmes, Open Air was divided last year into two sections: Open Air and Open Air Premiere. Open Air Premiere showcases the region’s most hotly anticipated works from across the former Yugoslavia, presented at the UNIQA Open Air Cinema Stari Grad, a venue that doubled its seating capacity last year.
As the leading cinema chain in Southeast Europe, Cineplexx is “a natural partner” for an award that honors the audience’s choice while supporting the theatrical life of regional films, according to the film festival.
“This award represents far more than its monetary value,” said Jovan Marjanović, director of the Sarajevo Film Festival. “In addition to audience recognition, the winning film receives substantial marketing support for its theatrical release through one of the region’s largest cinema chains. This brings added value to the Open Air Premiere program and provides regional films with tangible support beyond the Festival itself.”
Christof Papousek, CFO and co-owner of Cineplexx Group, and recipient of the 2024 Heart of Sarajevo Award, added: “For many years, we have proudly supported the Sarajevo Film Festival, one of the region’s most outstanding cultural events and a film festival of major artistic, industry, and political significance. Our cinemas are dedicated to serving audiences through state-of-the-art infrastructure and diverse film programming. It therefore feels only natural for us to sponsor an award decided by the festival’s audience and dedicated to regional films.”
“We are already looking forward to celebrating the very first winner of the Prix Cineplexx.”
The 2026 Sarajevo Film Festival will run in the Bosnia and Herzegovina capital from Aug. 14-21.
